Grandmaster Tan Zhongyi Wins 2024 Cairns Cup and $50,000 Prize in Saint Louis
June 26 2024 - 11:16AM
Business Wire
Saint Louis Chess Club Launches New Women’s
Initiative to Develop More American Female Grandmaster Chess
Players
Tournament favorite Grandmaster (GM) Tan Zhongyi was crowned the
winner of the 2024 Cairns Cup on Saturday, June 22, taking home a
prize of $50,000. Created and hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club,
the Cairns Cup is one of the world's premier women's
tournaments.
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Tournament favorite Grandmaster Tan
Zhongyi was crowned the winner of the 2024 Cairns Cup hosted by the
Saint Louis Chess Club. (Photo: Business Wire)
“Even though it looked smooth for me - the actual process was
harder than it looked, but I knew I had a higher chance of winning.
From here, I would like to continue playing and improving. I know
it will take a lot of time and work but that’s the direction I’m
going in”, said Zhongyi.
GM Anna Muzychuk finished on a high note by defeating IM Alice
Lee and claimed $40,000 followed by a four-way tie for third among
GMs Alexandra Kosteniuk, Harika Dronavalli, Nana Dzagnidze and
Mariya Muzychuk. Each will receive a $19,000 payout for third-sixth
places.
The Cairns Cup final standings include:
PLACE
NAME
FEDERATION
PRIZE MONEY
1
GM Tan Zhongyi
CHN
$50,000
2
GM Anna Muzychuk
UKR
$40,000
T-3
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk
SIU
$19,000
T-3
GM Harika Dronavalli
IND
$19,000
T-3
GM Nana Dzagnidze
GEO
$19,000
T-3
GM Mariya Muzychuk
UKR
$19,000
T-7
IM Alice Lee
USA
$9,500
T-7
GM Irina Krush
USA
$9,500
9
GM Elisabeth Paehtz
GER
$8,000
10
IM Anna Zatonskih
USA
$7,000
Established in 2019, the Cairns Cup was created by the Saint
Louis Chess Club to provide a competitive tournament for elite
female players. Aptly named in honor of Saint Louis Chess Club
co-founder Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield’s maiden name, the 2024
Cairns Cup featured a ten player field of top women from across the
world who competed for a purse of $200,000 during the round robin
style tournament held at the World Chess Hall of Fame from June
13-22, 2024.
To rewatch all of the action from the 2024 Cairns Cup broadcast,
visit uschesschamps.com. Next up will be the second leg of the
Grand Chess Tour, the Superbet Romania Chess Classic, taking place
June 25-July 5 in Bucharest, Romania. Tune in for daily live
coverage starting at 7:20 AM CDT on the STLChessClub's Twitch and
YouTube channels.
Breaking Gender Barriers: New Award Created to Develop More
American Female Grandmasters
During the Cairns Cup, Saint Louis Chess Club co-founder Dr.
Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield announced a new women’s chess initiative,
the Cairns Chess Queens Award, a new initiative created to
encourage more U.S. female chess players to become GMs. Beginning
July 4, 2024, the Saint Louis Chess Club will award $100,000 for up
to five players over the next five years who earn the title of
GM.
Approximately only two percent of the more than 2,000 chess GMs
globally are female and there is only one American female chess
player to ever earn the title of GM.
“Worldwide there are only 42 female GMs, while there are
currently more than 2,000 male GMs. Only 16 counties have developed
a female GM and the United States only has one active female GM,”
said Dr. Cairns. “We can do better! We challenge the rest of the
world to consider creating similar programs to develop their
players so we can create the next generation of competitive female
players and leaders in chess.”
Retroactively, the Saint Louis Chess Club awarded the first
Cairns Chess Queens Award for exceptional achievement to GM Irina
Krush from Brooklyn, who became the first and only female player to
earn the rank of GM while playing for the U.S. Krush is an
eight-time U.S. Women’s Champion.
“I am happy to see the creation of the Cairns Chess Queens
Award”, said GM Maurice Ashley, who first proposed the idea for the
initiative. “The award will serve as an important tool to continue
developing and incentivizing America's most talented female chess
players to be steadfast in the pursuit of reaching the GM
title.”
For more information, visit saintlouischessclub.org.
About the Saint Louis Chess Club
The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3)
organization that is committed to making chess an important part of
our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community
to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess
improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures.
Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the
Saint Louis Chess Club is committed to supporting those chess
programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the
development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more
information, visit saintlouischessclub.org.
About the World Chess Hall of Fame
The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization committed to building awareness of the cultural and
artistic significance of chess. It opened on September 9, 2011, in
the Central West End after moving from previous locations in New
York, Washington, D.C., and Miami. Housed in a historic 15,900
square-foot residence-turned-business in Saint Louis' Central West
End neighborhood, the WCHOF features World Chess Hall of Fame
inductees, United States Chess Hall of Fame inductees selected by
the U.S. Chess Trust, artifacts from the permanent collection and
exhibitions highlighting the great players, historic games and rich
cultural history of chess. The WCHOF partners with the Saint Louis
Chess Club to provide innovative programming and outreach to local,
national and international audiences. For more information, visit
worldchesshof.org - and on social: Facebook, Instagram, X and
YouTube channels.
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Rebecca Buffington Phone: (314) 277-3920
press@saintlouischessclub.org